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Monday, January 5, 2015

January Flash Fiction!

Hey!! I'm so excited about this idea. Every month we're going to be giving you short writing pieces based on pics Bronwyn and Jessica picked out. This months' pic is totally awesome. Hope you enjoy my short piece.

Dreams of Ice

Gwendolyn Cease

Cold sweat ran down his back as he
approached the dark mouth of the ice cave. The same cave he almost died in a
year ago. Cole shoved the thought aside. He couldn’t allow the memories to
surface. If he did, he’d never go in. If he never went in, he’d never finish
what he’d started. And it was imperative he finish. The longer he waited, the
more intense the dreams became, and that’s what had started everything. The
dreams.

He’d started dreaming about the cave as
a child, only flashes, but he remembered every detail. As he grew older, the
dreams became more intense, as if something called to him. He’d started his
search for the place at twenty-five, by that time the dreams were so
overwhelming he couldn’t focus on anything else. It had taken two years to
finally locate the cave. He still couldn’t believe he’d found it. For most of
the search, he thought the place was a figment of his fractured imagination,
since he was convinced he was going insane.

When he’d finally found the cave of his
dreams he’d wept from relief, from ecstasy. Finally, finally, he would walk
through the place he’d only visited in flashes. He hadn’t taken his time; he’d
been reckless though and rushed in without any thought to safety or caution. He’d
walked through the cave so many times in his dreams and been safe he hadn’t taken
into account the danger of reality. Cole had paid the price by losing his
footing on the ice and sliding into a deep pit. It had taken too many days and too
many people to finally extract him for him to walk away unscathed. His injuries
were numerous and he’s spent a long time in a hospital and even longer in
physical therapy. Through it all his constant focus had been the cave. He had
to get back. Had to see. Had to find.

He turned on the lamp embedded into his
helmet and stepped into the eerie blue-white world. From his previous visit, he
knew the floor was extremely slippery so he dug his cleated boots in as he
cautiously moved forward. His light danced over the walls as he fought to keep
his breathing steady and even. As with the first visit, he was overwhelmed with
the need to rush forward, but he held himself back. Whatever he was searching
for had been waiting a very long time, but he wouldn’t be foolhardy again.

A break in the ice he hadn’t noticed before
appeared to the left and he knew this was where he had to go. He played the
rope he’d secured around himself out as he stepped forward. This time around,
he’d made sure of his safety by attaching a rope to a series of ice screws.
This trip wasn’t going to end like the last one.

Squeezing through the opening, he stood
for a moment taking in the absolute silence. It was eerie, but relaxing all at
the same time. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been alone. After the
accident, his friends and family were with him constantly. He understood their
concern, but when he couldn’t even go to the bathroom alone without someone
hovering he’d lost his patience.

Now he stood alone and felt the last
bits of tension melt away. Slowly, he moved down the tiny corridor. With each
step, he knew he was approaching what he’d dreamed about, his destiny. He’d
always known, deep down, his heart’s desire would be found in this cave. The
problem was he couldn’t tell anyone what that desire was. Perhaps a need to
belong somewhere? A need to be loved? He wasn’t sure, but knew it was here in
this place.

As he neared a bend in his path, his
heart rate sped up. He recognized the spot. He dreamed of it and everything
looked the same. As he stepped forward, one of his boots slid out from under
him and he went down hard banging against the wall. Before he could catch his
breath, the wall at his back gave way and he was sliding backwards. Terror
filled him, as he scratched and grabbed for purchase. Nothing he did worked as
he gained speed. He tried to hold the rope around his waist, but it slipped
between his gloved hands as if covered in oil.

The light on his hat danced wildly as
his wild ride ended. He found himself on his back in a small cavern. He panted
attempting to calm his racing heart as spots danced before his eyes. He wasn’t
dead. The thought raced through his mind. He moved his arms and legs. He wasn’t
hurt either. He closed his eyes and sent up a prayer of thanks.

He sat up and rolled over so he could to
get to his feet. From his peripheral vision, he saw movement and turned. A man
crouched in a small opening Cole knew hadn’t been there before. White-blond
hair tumbled over the man’s wide shoulders as piercing blue eyes studied Cole
closely.

Cole knew him. This man had been in his
dreams too. Hadn’t he? Cole wasn’t sure anymore. Hell, maybe all of this was
some fevered dream his brain had created. Maybe he was locked in some hospital somewhere
and all of this was just a hallucination?